The Chase
The Chase was a game show based on the British format of the same name. Contestants competed against Mark Labbett, (commonly referred to as "The Beast"), for a chance to win hundreds of thousands of dollars. Gameplay A team of three contestants attempted to amass as much money as possible to put into a team bank by answering general-knowledge questions. The money earned would go into the bank, but there was one person standing in their way: a quiz genius known as The Beast. The Beast's job was to catch each contestant and make sure the players were not able to put the money in the bank which the team had to collectively play for in "The Final Chase". To begin, each player came up one at a time and played a game called "Cash Builder". In this game, each was given one minute to answer as many questions as possible with each correct answer worth $5,000. The more correct answers given, the more money the players could add into the bank. After the minute was up, the player's money was placed three steps down on an eight-step money board. The player could remain at this step and play for the money they had won, but if they so wished, they could be placed one step lower down the board for a smaller award, or one step further up the board for a greater award, with each award's value being set by The Beast. The lower award could occasionally be a negative amount of money. If the player elected to play for the greater reward, The Beast was two steps behind them and the player had to answer six questions correctly to reach the end. If the player elected to remain where they were, The Beast was three steps behind them and the player had to answer five questions correctly to reach the end. However, if the player elected to play for the smaller reward, The Beast was four steps behind them and the player had to answer four questions correctly to reach the end. On rare occasions, the Chaser would escalate the stakes by offering a "super offer" for an even higher amount, with the contestant being required to answer seven questions correctly without being caught. Once the player nominated their starting position, they had to answer questions correctly in order to reach the bottom of the board and bank their money. Both the player and The Beast were given the same multiple choice question with three possible answers, then had to secretly press one of the three buttons on their keypad to lock in their answer. If the player and/or The Beast was correct, they (both) moved one step down the board, but if wrong, s/he/they had to remain where they are. The Beast's job was to catch up to the player and eliminate them from the game by capitalizing on the mistakes the player made before they could reach the bottom of the board. If this happened, the player was out of the game and the cash disappeared by the red arrow, and as the saying went, the chase was over (same as "game over" in some games). This was repeated for all three players. The players who successfully outran The Beast proceed to The Final Chase. If all three players were caught, then their prize fund was set to $15,000 and the team had to nominate one player to proceed to The Final Chase, which was called a "Consolation Chase." The Final Chase In the final round, all or the remaining players answered as many questions as possible in two minutes to amass as many spaces as possible. The more questions answered correctly, the more the players increased their chances to avoid being caught. To start, they were given one space per remaining member of the team. In the case of all three players being caught, then the one nominated person would receive a one-step head start, as opposed to having no head start at all. To answer a question, the player had to press his/her own buzzer and only s/he could answer it. Upon buzzing in, an off-stage voice would say that person's name. But sometimes if the contestant was right and at the same time the other contestant pressed the button, it was counted as a wrong person answer, and they couldn't accept. In the event there was only one player in the Final Chase, that player was not required to press the buzzer. After the two minutes were up, The Beast was brought in and was told how many spaces the players collected. The Beast was given a further two minutes of quick-fire questions to attempt to catch the team. If The Beast got any question wrong or couldn't answer it, or sometimes The Beast interrupted the question, the clock was stopped and the question was thrown over to the players. If they got the answer correct, The Beast was pushed back one step and the clock was resumed. If the players answered The Beast's question correctly while The Beast was on zero steps, an extra step was added to the players' total. If The Beast succeeded in catching the team, the team would leave with nothing, and again, the team's money will go down from The Beast, and the chase was over; however, if the team was not caught by The Beast when time was up, the prize pot was split equally between the remaining team players. Should only one player make it to the Final Chase and win, then that player would get the full amount. Setup Season 1 *The question text had one very long rounded rectangle for the question and three long thin rounded rectangles for the answers. *The rounded squares that read "Beast Locked" appeared on the right of the question while the "Player Locked" appears on the left of the question. *When a player faced the beast, he would tell Brooke and the contestant what he said. *In the final chase, a background voice said the contestant's name for whoever buzzed in to attempt to answer the question. Season 2 *The Beast didn't say his answer for any question in the main chase. *The background voice was removed for the final chase and was replaced with the names highlighted in yellow. *In the final chase, the contestants had a choice of 2 question sets during the commercial break. Season 3 *The rounded squares for "Player Locked" & Beast Locked" changed to look like thin rounded rectangles and they both appear on top of the question instead of on the sides. *The Beast would either give his answer after the correct answer was given or Brooke would ask the Beast what he said without say. *When Sean's, Rob's and Sonya's been caught by The Beast, it's called the Consolation Chase. *The TV viewers got to see the money added on the team's podium. *Whenever the team was caught by the Beast, the amount of money would drop down from the team podium screen. Season 4 *When contestants or The Beast won, the moving lines on the Final Chase gameboard were replaced with arrows. *The set was now made slightly darker than Seasons 1-3 *Mark's suit was slightly different than Seasons 1-3 *When a player and The Beast got an answer correct, the camera would pan around the board, showing the player and The Beast moving down the board. *In the brother's version of The Chase, it's called Oh!, Brother in Season 4, Episode 10. *In the Texas version of The Chase, it's called Don't Mess with Texas in Season 4, Episode 12. *In the ladies' version of The Chase, it's called Girl Power in Season 4, Episode 19. Contestants and their winnings Check for the Episode Guide below. Ratings The Chase became one of the highest rated original programs in GSN's history. The series debuted to 511,000 total viewers during its premiere while maintaining 90% of its audience with 461,000 total viewers during the second episode airing that night. On January 28, 2014, The Chase set a new series high in terms of total viewers and adults 18–49, with 827,000 and 234,000 viewers respectively. Season 1 The first season of The Chase premiered new episodes Tuesday nights at 9:00 P.M., except for episode 2 which aired immediately after the premiere of episode 1 at 10:00 P.M. U.S. Nielsen ratings Season 2 The second season of The Chase premiered new episodes Tuesday nights at 8:00 P.M. U.S. Nielsen ratings Season 3 The third season of The Chase premiered new episodes Tuesday nights at 8:00 P.M. U.S. Nielsen ratings Season 4 The fourth season of The Chase initially premiered new episodes Tuesday nights at 8:00 P.M. U.S. Nielsen ratings Beginning Fall 2015, new episodes of The Chase premiered Friday nights at 8:00 P.M. Ratings Sources * Son of the Bronx * TVMediaInsights * ShowBuzzDaily Rating Studio Hollywood Center Studios International Versions *Additional Note: In Australia, the Seven Network had once considered producing a local version of the show for the network and has filmed a pilot using the original UK set but has later decided not to proceed. Additionally, reruns of the UK version airs weekday afternoons at 3PM to good ratings. However, as of May 2015, it is rumored that the network may have a renewed interest in doing their own version of the show. The Australian version (hosted by Andrew O'Keefe) premiered on September 14, 2015. Merchandise A single mobile game was released for the iphone and ipad by GSN in 2013. 1390.png Trivia *In 2012, a pilot for The Chase was originally going to be recorded on the UK set for FOX with Bradley Walsh from the original UK version as host along with former Jeopardy! champ Brad Rutter and Mark Labbett as the Chasers which unfortunately was never sold. *Before Brooke Burns, famed ESPN and ABC sportscaster Dan Patrick was the original choice to host the GSN version of The Chase before negotiations fell through at the last minute. Today, Patrick is the host of Crackle's Sports Jeopardy! from 2014 until 2016. *Mark Labbett (a.k.a "The Beast") is not only a "chaser" in the U.S. version but also in the original U.K. version as well. Since 2016, Labbett is also a "chaser" in the Australian version. In addition, Anne Hegerty (a.k.a "The Governess") is also a "chaser" in both the U.K. and Australian versions as well. *Raj beat The Beast and won $125,000 in season one of the show, making him the biggest winner in GSN history. *An August 15 recording for season two featured The Beast's birthday that aired on November 5. *The episode from January 21, 2014, was the first taped episode from the 1st season. *Reruns of the U.S. version along with its original British counterpart can also be seen daily on U.K.'s equivalent network to GSN, Challenge (also known as Challenge TV). *In 2015, the 4th Season of the show aired alongside the revived game show Chain Reaction, hosted by Mike Catherwood. Additional Pages *The Chase/Gallery *The Chase/Episode Guide *The Chase/Catchphrases Links Official Site The Chase Official GSN Quiz Show app Video Links YouTube 2nd Aired Episode #3 Raj Wins Big Category:General Knowledge Quiz Category:Big Prize Category:British Formats Category:Game Show Network shows Category:GSN Originals Category:Short-Running Category:60 Minute Game Shows Category:2013 premieres Category:2015 endings Category:Ability to Pass Category:Multiple Choice Game Shows